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The College Precipice
An Excerpt
An Excerpt
Excerpt from The College Precipice © Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. – Psalm 143:10 I couldn’t help but think of a pirate plank as I climbed the ladder toward a wooden platform, suspended about eight feet off the ground in mid-air. Half- expecting to hear the guide call me “matey,” I paused for a moment, only to hear the familiar chatter of high school classmates below, and a serene rustling of leaves above. I knew what to do – several of my friends had just done this – so I walked to the end of the platform, looked out across a sea of friends, then turned around, my back toward my classmates, facing the guide. At this point I began to feel frightened. What if it didn’t work? “On the count of three,” she began. “One… two… three!” With a rush of adrenaline I fell backwards, into the arms of people with whom I had shared my teenage years. Working as a team to keep my body elevated – mosh-pit style – they carried me to the end of the group and set me down feet first, perfectly exemplifying what we had come to learn – that trust and teamwork get the job done. At the time I thought it strange that we would go to a team-building ropes course for our senior trip, since people usually do something like this at the beginning of a project, rather than as a form of goodbye. Of course, we had tons of fun (most of which included staying up all night and shaving cream ambushes). But we already knew how to work as a team – four years of high school activities had done that. Little did I know, though, how accurately this event foreshadowed the coming first year of college. Sure, the parameters changed – the stakes became higher. But when it came right down to it, going forward into life and leaving the past behind was really just another test of trust – both thrilling and frightening at the same time. A precipice is: 1) a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face, and 2) a situation of great peril. Going to college can be a huge precipice in your life by both definitions. Here you stand, on relatively secure ground (while acknowledging that every woman comes from a different background, I use the word secure because this reality is known) – overlooking a giant chasm beyond which sits the new reality – your ideal adult life. This precipice can be emotional or physical, but it always holds a spiritual dimension. Separating your faith from that of your parents and friends, learning to depend on God for big answers to life decisions, deciding which path to take – these things test you – they test your spirit, your resolve, your faith, your strength. Trusting God during these tests takes you into adulthood with tremendous potential. But I’m not talking about the scholastic potential that high school counselors dangle before you almost like bait, as in “you have great potential if you just apply yourself.” I mean real faith potential – real faith energy -- that takes you through the trials of life, which gives you peace when everything else falls apart. |
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